Sin & Salvation (Demigod of San Francisco #3)(27)

My stomach fluttered. “Kieran.”





11





Valens





“Report,” Valens said, leaning back in his chair. Soft music played from the other side of his large office and light streamed in through the many windows facing the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance. He stalled to straighten a piece of paper before fully facing one of his best spies.

After Flara’s lackluster report last night and his inability to reach climax, he’d been left with no choice but to listen to his gut. The Necromancer was a stronger lead than Flara would have him believe. He could feel it.

Amber, a name solely used when she was working, chosen at random from a list of top stripper names, stood straight and tall just inside the door. Her silky black hair cascaded over her slim shoulders. Intelligent onyx eyes surveyed him, no doubt cataloging each nuance of his tone and body language to determine his exact mood and level of patience. She’d know she was under the gun to perform.

“Bria Stevens is heralded as an excellent Necromancer and problem solver, but a lone wolf as far as the trade goes,” Amber said, delivering the information like she was reading it straight from a report. She might as well have been. The blood oath she’d taken had given her exceptional information recall. “She never gets too close to anyone. She’s friendly with the power players in the trade, and involved in all the right groups, but she maintains a respectable distance from the others that keeps her clear of in-fighting. She is taken seriously without being seen as a threat. In short, she has positioned herself perfectly. That takes great intelligence.”

Amber paused so he could soak in that information. She was setting the stage, and that stage seemed to be filled with professionals. He’d been shortsighted in sending Flara—a decision that might’ve bitten him in the ass.

“Noted,” he said. “Continue.”

“My team is still compiling data, but so far, the Necromancer is elusive. She comes and goes seemingly at random. She has been seen entering the non-magical zone, though she has no clearance to do so, and she hangs out in the dual-magical zone occasionally. My guess is that she works at being unpredictable. She attempts to mask her movements in chaos, and she does an incredible job. If she’d played her cards like most Necromancers, she would’ve been snatched up by a Demigod and pulled into his or her inner circle.

“That said, she hasn’t trained to compete with someone of my caliber. She moves around under the radar just fine, but doesn’t dispose of the stolen cars as well as she should. She has covered her face to avoid facial recognition at moments when she shouldn’t have, and vice versa. In short, she has been sloppy in places. Either that is because she is not trying as hard as she should be, or she is simply missing the mark on excellence.”

“Do you think she was involved in this?”

“I believe so. Her timeline and appearances were almost impeccable during the period in question. Almost. But a few slips and a trip to the outpatient emergency room gives me reason to suspect she had a direct hand in the disappearance of your spirit workers.”

Valens rubbed his thumb across the leather of the chair arm. Finally a lead. “I’ll look for your report on the best way to twist information out of her.”

To his surprise, Amber shook her head. “I believe she was involved, but I’m hesitant to bring her in just yet. That would set off some large alarm bells. I have a growing suspicion…” She shifted her weight, a small movement that spoke volumes. She was not a woman given to uncertainty. “Last night, the Necromancer was seen with a class two Ghost Whisperer. Soon after leaving the bar, the Necromancer separated from the Ghost Whisperer to walk a drunk man home. I believe the man was a distraction. As was the convoluted path she took. I checked out this Ghost Whisperer. On paper, there was nothing to give me pause, but…” She shifted again and a small line formed between her brows.

Valens stilled his thumb. This was unusual. Amber looked almost troubled.

“Nearly three months ago she was brought in for a magical reassessment,” Amber said. “She is twenty-five years old, with no job offer or pending application of any kind to prompt the reassessment.”

“Did they find anything abnormal?”

“No. All was as expected. The new report was in line with the old one.” She paused.

His impatience got the better of him. “Then what is the problem?”

“Something…seemed off. The dots weren’t all connecting for me. I followed up with the staff. One of them remembered the Ghost Whisperer was tested in the surveillance room, a room usually reserved for high-powered magical workers. Another recalled that she was also seen by a high-level Authenticator, but he didn’t remember why.”

Valens raised his eyebrows and a thread of intrigue filtered into his awareness.

“When shown the report, the staff assumed they’d made a mistake.” There was that shift again. “The new assessment happened right around the time I brought in Dunstin…”

Dunstin was a class-five earth Elemental who’d run from his home territory in France. The man had been extremely unhinged and dangerous, but exceptionally talented. Valens had hoped to reprogram him and force him into his Elite, where he could keep the magical worker on a very tight leash.

Unfortunately, someone had tipped off Elise, the Demigod of France. Valens had been left with little choice but to give the treasure back, lest he start an altercation that would severely tax his reserves at an inopportune time. The magical person wasn’t worth a war.